"John?! What happened to you?" Mary Jane had snuck up behind her friend and glomped him from behind. She expected to surprise him and maybe earn a laugh. She certainly did not expect the small groan of pain or for her friend to suddenly fall over.

"Hi MJ. How did your day go?"

John didn't bother to lift his face off the ground as he spoke. He honestly wasn't sure if he could at this point, as he had only managed to stay standing and walking because he was already in motion. His limbs felt like they were filled with lead and even breathing took far too much energy and conscious effort than he'd like. Under his shirt, he had bandages wrapped around his torso and dark bruises covered his body.

All this was only after a week of training with Shang Chi.

The man literally beat the skill into him as he wasn't good at learning through lectures. He had to experience it. The sadistic Asian had healed him but left the wounds that wouldn't deliberate him. Pain builds character indeed.

"Cmon let's get you to the nurse, and you can tell me why you look like you just watched out of a car crash." The taller girl supported his left side and they slowly treaded to the nurse's office. She laid him on one of the beds once she saw that the nurse wasn't there and took an ice pack from the drawer to give to John.

"I think you're supposed to use an icepack? Or was it hot packs? Both? Ah, man I wish the nurse will come back soon."

It was kind of cute and touching watching her frit over him. He couldn't hold back a laugh at her that got him a glare. Karma evidently was on her side as the shaking of his frame brought sharp pain to the side of his ribs where he was sure there would be an imprint of his teacher's foot.

"Stop moving, stupid. You'll only hurt yourself." Contradictory to her words she threw another ice pack at his head. Ow.

"Thank you MJ, really, I appreciate it."

The young redhead pulled over a chair and sat next to him. Her foot tapped the floor in a steady rhythm. They shared a short moment of silence before she broke it.

"Are you going to tell me what happened now?"

"It was nothing, don't worry about it."

"Nothing? Is "Nothing" the name of the trucker that hit you? John, you look like a mummy and could barely walk when I saw you."

The wicked girl gave him a sharp jab with her finger at a particularly large bruise to prove her point. The painful yelp he gave off only furthered her stance.

"Don't do that!"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"John, we're friends... Aren't we? If something is wrong you can tell me." Her voice became ever so gentle as she placed a hand over the back of his palm.

"Was it the jocks again? They're going too far John, this isn't simply schoolyard roughhousing, we can inform the authorities. Or is it more personal? Are...Are things alright at home John?"

"We are friends, MJ, I'm sorry if I made it sound like I was trying to push you away, I just didn't want to worry you. It wasn't the jerks, and I assure you I'm not being abused at home. I just signed up for some martial art class. Pretty intense stuff you know? Like they say "No pain, no gain". And boy do I feel the pain alright."

He muttered the last part beneath his breath as he recalled the torture that was training. 

"What? What kind of class would leave you looking like this? John, this is ridiculous! If this is what you look like after two days, won't you be dead by the end of the month? Why are you even doing this?"

"While his methods might be a bit extreme, but his skills and expertise are unquestionable MJ. The man knows what he is doing. The reason I'm doing this is because I have a dream. You might think it's silly or even stupid, and I don't blame you one bit, but I want to be a hero. Not just any hero I want to be someone who inspires others, to help make this world a better place, to know I'm making a difference. I don't want to be another face in the crowd, to be ordinary, I want to be Marvelous."

She gave him a look of surprise and awe before the moment was interrupted when the door was slammed open.

"Hey kid, it's nice to see you again, but schools closing. I'm gonna need both of you to skedaddle."

Stan the janitor promptly kicked them out and locked the door. Mary Jane had decided to walk him home to make sure he got back alright. He didn't know how to feel about having a girl walk him home for his safety. He wasn't sexist by any means and he knew a bunch of females, super or otherwise, that could kick his ass, yet he'd be lying if he said his pride wasn't hurt just a bit.

She didn't know he was an orphan apparently as shown by her shock once they arrived at Little Wanderers. Whoops, he guesses he forgot to tell her?

"Good night Red, thanks again for walking me home."

"No problem John, have a good night."

A good thing about living in an understaffed orphanage in a poorer district of the city was people don't tend to notice if you're missing. He had managed to sneak his way to his room unnoticed. He locked the door and pushed his bed over it just to be safe, as the lock were faulty and prone to be opened with enough force. Closing the binds he sat in a corner where nobody could see him from the outside.

It was time to practice. He sat with his back across the wall and crossed legs, his hands on his laps as he closed his eyes and took slow and deep breathes. While he had done some meditation before in his previous life, he had never tried to find his Ki while doing so. Shang Chi had been pushing a small part of his Ki into his body to jump start it for a lack of better term. He had to sense the foreign energy and use it as a reference to find his own. 

Meditation could also apparently help you heal slightly faster and with enough practice could replace sleep. This sounded like some mumbo jumbo if he was in his previous life, but considering where he was he wouldn't question anything.

And so throughout the night, the boy sat still as a statue practicing his breathing and focusing inwards.

The morning sun had come up far too soon for his liking with his phone pulling him out of his trace.

"Yup, just as I thought." The boy said as he snapped his eyes open.

...

...

"I can't feel my legs!"

He fell face first when he tried to get up and ready for school. Although he didn't manage to find his Ki, it had only been a couple of days since he started learning so he was in no rush.